Here’s a quick post to share some photos of Angkor Watt, Cambodia’s epic 12th century Hindu temple that sits eerily frozen in time in the outskirts of Siem Reap. Ankor Wat is a stark reminder that great civilizations can very quickly turn into mere skeletons of their past form. Angkor Wat refers specifically to the main temple with the three peaks shown below. The entire compound contains roughly a dozen equally impressive and awe inspiring temples over 154 square miles. Almost all of the temples are slowly being overtaken by tree roots. It reminds me of a scene from the movie I Am Legend where Will Smith is driving a mustang down an unkempt Madison Avenue covered in trees, bushes, and vines.

This peaceful tree lined street is a complete contrast to the dirty and frantically crowded city streets in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. We opted to rent bikes to make our own way through the grounds which definitely added an hour or two onto our time there. Most people hire tuk-tuk drivers.

These temples are crumbling under the pressure of the trees growing directly out of the foundations.

Tomb Raider was filmed in Angkor Wat. Here’s Angelina Jolie in the same spot.

The size of this doorway is not unique to Angkor Wat. Too many doorways in South East are built for the inconvenient average height of people who are less than 5ft tall. It only took hitting my head 100+ times over two months in South East Asia to make me forever wince every time I walk through a doorway or up the stairs.